George WeigelNot all lavenders are equally winter-hardy...Q: I want to overwinter my lavender plant that I have in a pot on my balcony. Should I bring it inside or leave it outside? If I leave it outside, should I water it and let it on the balcony or move it into an outside utility closet? Should I trim it back? Last year I left a pot out all winter and did not water it, thinking it would go dormant. It did not come back in the spring. I’d like to keep it alive this year.

A: I think your lavender freeze-dried last year -- more from the dry soil than the cold, especially depending on what kind of lavender you bought. Any unprotected potted plant is at higher risk of dying to winter dryness when there isn’t rain or snow to keep at least a minimal amount of moisture around the roots. Broad-leaf evergreens, other plants that don’t drop their leaves/needles over winter and plants that are within a zone or two of our cold-hardiness cutoffs are particularly at risk.

English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), the lavandin types (Lavandula x intermedia) and hybrids of those two are the cold-hardiest kinds. French, Spanish and fernleaf types are more tender and usually don’t survive our winters even in the ground. So buying a hardy type in the first place helps more than anything.

The second best thing you can do is sink the potted lavender in the ground near a wall over winter. The soil will insulate the roots. A little mulch also would be great. If that’s not possible, move the lavender near a wall on the balcony and nestle it in leaves, other pots or some kind of protection to keep the drying winter winds off as best as you can. Whenever the soil gets dry over winter and isn’t frozen, add a little water to the lavender pot -- just enough to dampen it.

A third option is taking the lavender inside and keeping it alive next to a sunny window as you would a houseplant. Again, don’t overwater. Just enough to keep the roots alive.

The utility-closet idea might nurse your lavender through the winter, too, but it’ll be easier to forget to add water there.

Whichever approach you try, don’t trim lavender in fall. You can take about one-third off the plant at the end of winter (assuming it survives) and then trim again in summer right after the main first round of flowering.